Burnett began the evening by doing something no other pitcher in baseball had done this year. He threw eight straight balls and walked the first two hitters. A double steal put the runners on second and third with no outs.

Through 12 pitches, Burnett had more bases stolen on him (3) than strikes thrown (2).

Both batters who walked ended up scoring, the first on a Robinson Cano groundout and the second on a single by Logan Morrison.

Burnett seemed to straighten things out for a while, walking only one over the next four innings, but he started having trouble throwing strikes again in the fifth.

He started that inning by getting behind Kyle Seager 3-0. The fourth pitch, a sinker, was taken for a ride to the right field seats, giving Seattle a 3-0 advantage.

Burnett hit Mike Zunino later in the inning, but struck out Brad Miller before any more damage was done. He pitched a perfect seventh and racked up a total of nine strikeouts in the game. However, his lack of control returned in the eighth and ended Burnett's night.

The right-hander hit Cano, the first batter of the inning, and after a strikeout, gave Morrison a free pass. Both of those runs scored as well.

A groundout to first helped Burnett see the light at the end of the tunnel but Zunino singled, knocking in Cano and Morrison and knocking out Burnett.

While Burnett's struggles have been most pronounced since the All-Star break, control is something he's struggled with all season. With his performance Tuesday, he ran his major league-leading walks total to 76 and is tied for fourth with 12 hit batsmen.

Sandberg said the walks have been a large part of his troubles.

"I think the walks have something to do with it, base runners," Sandberg said. "I'd say his stuff is still good, still has a good breaking pitch, still has his velocity. I'd say it's more execution working, ahead on the hitters."

What was crucial about Burnett's start Tuesday – his 27th of the season – was that it made his 2015 player option more expensive. The option, first triggered with his 24th start, rose to $10 million. With his 30th start, it would climb to $11.75 million and $12.75 after his 32nd start.

But with talks of retirement floating and considering how rough of a season he's had, will he even pitch next season?

"I have no idea," Burnett said. "Probably not. But we'll see. … Why do I say that? Because I said that before I signed."

Seattle's starter, Hisashi Iwakuma, had a very different outing. His first six pitches were strikes and just two of the 14 he needed to finish the scoreless inning were balls.

Iwakuma baffled Phillies batters all evening, striking out 11. His control was much better than Burnett's too. The Mariners starter didn't walk anyone and allowed just four hits, completing eight innings with only 96 pitches.

"He was really a master of mixing pitches and changing speeds," Sandberg said. "He was throwing a curveball, three or four different speeds. It was really hard to gauge in on him."

For the first eight innings, Ryan Howard, with a double in the fourth inning, was the only Phillie to make it past first base. Philadelphia changed that in the ninth but its rally was too little, too late.

With two outs and Chase Utley on first after a force out, the Mariners relieved Charlie Furbush and elected to go with Yoervis Medina to get the final out of a 5-0 ballgame.

It was easier said than done.

Marlon Byrd singled off Medina to put runners on the corners. Utley scored on a wild pitch and Byrd also crossed the plate on a double by Domonic Brown. After Medina hit Carlos Ruiz, Seattle's manager Lloyd McClendon had seen enough.

McClendon brought in Fernando Rodney, who struck out Cody Asche to record his 36th save of the season.

Notes: Cesar Jimenez pitched a scoreless ninth and has not allowed a run in any of his nine appearances this season. Dating back to Sept. 27, 2011, 25 of Jimenez's 28 major league outings have been scoreless. … The Phillies dropped to 5-11 in interleague play this year. Their .313 winning percentage is the second worst in the majors behind the Houston Astros.